WikiLeaks: Ecuador seeks new talks over Julian Assange

Ecuador said it would ask for new talks with the Foreign Office on Julian Assange that could see the fugitive founder of the WikiLeaks website face justice in Sweden if Teresa May, the Home Secretary, places conditions on his extradition.

Julian Assange on a balcony at the Ecuadorian embassy in LondonPhoto: Reuters

Officials at the Ecuadorembassy in Knightsbridge said that contacts with British officials would resume shortly and the government had set a timeframe of the end of the year to resolve the stand-off over Mr Assange.

Mr Assange has lived in a basement room at the embassy for nine months after seeking asylumn with Ecuador, which has a Left-wing government.

Scotland Yard said last month that the cost of policing the embassy had reached £2.9 million since the Australian broke bail conditions to see refuge in the embassy in June.

Ricardo Patino, the Foreign Minister, said he was "always very optimistic" and hoped that the future of Mr Assange will be sorted out before the end of the year.

Dr Fander Falconi, Ecuador's secretary of state for planning and development, met Mr Assange during a brief visit to the UK.

"He is in very good health and good spirits," Dr Falconi told a briefing. "He is very proud of Ecuador's foreign policy and the very professional way the government of Ecuador is dealing with this issue."

Ana Alban Mora, the ambassador to Britain, said that she would formally ask the Foreign Office to open a channel of dialogue before the end of the month.

"We are asking for some assurance that Mr Assange would not be sent to a third country," she said. "This issue should be resolved this year. Afterall this situation is very expensive for the British government and we would hope the government would measure what is best and what is worst for them."

Mr Assange is wanted for questioning in Sweden over allegations of sexual offences against two women - which he denies - but fears he will be extradited to the United States if he travels to Scandinavia.

Mr Assange told the website the Swedish allegations against him were "falling apart" and police should drop the case.

Ecuador has repeatedly suggested that Swedish prosecutors interview Mr Assange inside the London Embassy, but the offer has been refused.

Ecuador, which has been seeking assurances that Mr Assange will not be extradited to the US if he goes to Sweden, granted him political asylum last year.

A Foreign Office spokesman said that any resolution would have to respect the legal obligation to send Mr Assange to Sweden.

"We remain committed to seeking a diplomatic solution to this situation and must also ensure that our laws are followed. The UK has a legal obligation to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of sexual offences, and the British police must fulfil this," she said.